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There’s a secret to how the Chicken is so tender and soft from your takeout, I’ll let you in on it, it takes a small amount of time but is not difficult or complicated by any stretch of the imagination, It’s called velveting and it involves marinating the diced chicken for a wee while in a marinade & gently simmering rather than frying it. This serves 4 hungry people and is only 8 Smartpoints per serving macros per Serving 385 Cal Protein 39 Carbs 49 Fat 4

For the Chicken Marinade:

500g Chicken Fillet Diced

2 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Large Egg White

1 Tbsp Cornflour

¼ Tsp Salt

For The Chow Mein Sauce:

1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Dark soy Sauce

1 Tsp Cornflour

1 Clove Garlic Crushed

1 Thumb size piece of Ginger Grated

2 Tbsps Oyster Sauce

1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

¼ Tsp Fresh Ground White Pepper

1 Tsp Sesame Oil

For The Stir Fry:

1 Red Pepper

2 Carrots cut into strips

1 Pack Baby Sweetcorn Halved Lenghtwise

1 Handful Mangetout

2 Spring Onions Diced

200g (4 nests) Wholewheat Noodles

Whisk the Egg White, 2 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar, 1 Tbsp Cornflour and the salt in a large bowl until well combined. Place the Chicken Pieces in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or as long as you can in advance. Mix the Soy Sauce and 1 Tsp Cornflour together in a small bowl until the cornflour is completely blended in and then add the remaining sauce ingredients (except the sesame oil ) and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the marinated chicken a few pieces at a time so they don’t stick together. Simmer the chicken for approximately 8 minutes or until cooked through, drain and set aside, cover to keep it warm. Meanwhile prepare the noodles according to packet instructions and heat a large non stick pan sprayed with oil. Fry the veggies except the spring onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in the cooked chicken pieces and spring onion for a minute to heat through then add the sauce ingredients to the pan, cook until the sauce reduces down to a thicker consistency then add the noodles and sesame oil and stir through well to coat everything with the sauce. Divide evenly, serve and enjoy.

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be dull and boring, this healthy recipe will satisfy your cravings for takeout and can be thrown together in less time than the take-out delivery man would even be at your door with your order. Crispy battered chicken smothered in a spicy sweet sesame sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds & sliced spring onion on a bed of fluffy wholegrain rice, why it’s utterly downright delightful. January has never looked so darn good. This lovely lot serves 4 generously and comes in at just 13 Smartpoints a serving. The Macros per Serving are 494 Calories | Protein 39 | Carbs 68 | Fat 7.

Place the semolina in a small bowl and add the 15g cornflour, Chinese 5 spice and season with salt & pepper. Mix together well. Set yourself up a little production line with your bowl of diced chicken pieces, your bowl of semolina mixture, another bowl with the egg beaten well and a plate to place the coated chicken onto. Meanwhile put the rice on to cook as per packet instructions. Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat to preheat you can spray it with oil for extra non-stick factor if you wish, I always do. Dip the chicken pieces a few at a time into the beaten egg, shake off any excess and roll it around in the semolina mix. The idea is to lightly coat the chicken you are not looking for a thick or heavy coating, and place them on the plate until all the chicken has been coated. Alternatively, you could coat the chicken in the egg and place the semolina mixture in a large zip lock food bag and place the chicken into it shaking it around well until the chicken is fully coated, I have not tried this but have seen people coat meat with flour or spices like this before and its possibly quicker so go with whichever you are comfortable with. Place the chicken flat around the pan piece by piece in an even layer and cook over a medium high heat for 5 to 8 minutes a side or until browning and cooked through. Place the stock in a medium sized saucepan and add the rest of the sauce ingredients EXCEPT the 7.5g cornflour. Bring it to a light boil and place the cornflour in a small glass and add a tiny drop of cold water just enough so it fully dissolves the cornflour. Pour the cornflour mix into the sauce stirring continuously with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until the sauce thickens, it won’t be very thick it’s more like a slightly thick but runnyish coating. Once done pour the sauce over the chicken pieces in the pan and lightly stir ensuring all the chicken is well coated in the sauce. Plate your servings of rice and spoon over the coated chicken. Sprinkle over some Sesame seeds and sliced spring onion and enjoy! This is best served straight away.

If you follow me on Instagram you will know this was in fact last night’s dinner, we’re having steak tonight, but this turned out so utterly delicious I decided to pop the recipe up for you all. My full intention was to make one of the many healthy risotto recipes I already have up on my blog but alas when I opened the press I had very little Arborio rice left but I did have a full packet of Orzo pasta so I had to think quick on my feet and with a few google searches later, an amalgamation of and tweak of several previous recipes and I had formulated my very own recipe using the ingredients I had available to me in the fridge. I cannot recommend this one highly enough, regardless of the fact it was thrown together rather haphazardly, it actually turned out to be the tastiest and best thing I have made in quite a little while (as is often the case) and that’s saying a lot because in my humble opinion my recipes are pretty darn tasty to begin with if I do say so myself. It isn’t unlike a risotto in texture and consistency so if you’re a huge risotto fan like me you will just adore this little spin on it. Continue reading →

A Traditional take on the festive leftovers this year with an old school turkey curry. I made this kinda ad hoc so bear with me I’m going to write it verbatim as I made it. You can of course use roast chicken or roast up some chicken fillets and shred them either. I only used the skinless white leaner meat for this and Smartpoints and Macros are in accordance with that. This made 4 huge servings you could probably even get 6 smaller portions out of this especially if you added a bit more veg to bulk it out. The Smartpoints per serving when serving 4 people is just 4 you will need to point whatever you serve with it, I had both wholegrain rice and I’ve also had it with homemade oven chips. The Macros per serving are 292Cals | 42 Protein | 16 Carbs | 5 Fat for the curry and add in whatever you choose to serve it with. Continue reading →

I heard a few weeks ago that Chicken Tikka Masala topped the poll this year for Irelands favourite take out dish overtaking the legendary Spice bag (There’s a healthy spice bag recipe already available on the blog) and it’s been on my mind ever since to give it my light and healthy twist whilst keeping all the richness and depth of flavour which I think I have achieved here. Continue reading →

Sumptuous Smoky Sloppy Joes, fun to say, fun to make, fun to eat. I’m always on the hunt for new ways to use beef mince & this did not disappoint with a gorgeous smoky depth of flavour and crispy chunky homemade oven fries to accompany it for a huge satisfying but healthy meal. Continue reading →

Me & Risotto are bessie mates, so much so that I can knock it out midweek with my eyes practically closed. It has a real reputation for being a tricky & difficult dish to make but it’s really, really not. It’s a little time consuming with all the stirring but that’s the only taxing part & it’s ready in just 20 minutes so really not that taxing after all! I get asked every time I post a recipe for risotto if you can use different rice or ordinary basmati rice and the answer is unfortunately no you definitely can’t, you need to buy the special risotto rice as the dish only works with a short grain rice, it’s all about the creaminess with risotto and other rices just don’t have the same starch content to create that effect. Arborrio rice is the most common risotto rice & it is widely available in all main supermarkets and it’s really not that difficult to source so good news there! This serves 2 at 9 Smartpoints or Macros 395Cal Protein 35 Carbs 54 Fat 4 Continue reading →